Edison

By the 1920s, Thomas Edison was a prolific inventor and quite possibly the most famous man in the world. But before he invented the phonograph, the lightbulb or the kinetoscope, he was a young boy working as a telegraph operator. He soon began tinkering with the telegraphic equipment and experimenting with his own improvements. "Edison" premieres January 27 on American Experience PBS.

Alexander Graham Bell demonstrated his new invention, the telephone, at the 1876 Centennial Exposition in Philadelphia’s Fairmount Park. The always-competitive Thomas Edison then worked with his team to develop a device that trumped Bell’s, the carbon-button transmitter, just a few months later. “Edison” premieres January 27, 2015 on PBS American Experience.

On December 7, 1877 Thomas Edison demonstrated his phonograph at the New York City offices of the nation’s leading technical weekly publication, “Scientific American.” The following report set off a stampede of reporters to Edison’s laboratory to hear the amazing device. “Edison” premieres January 27, 2015 on PBS American Experience.

On New Year’s Eve, 1879, Thomas Edison unveiled his newest invention: the electric light. Reporters came from all over the U.S. to see Edison’s Menlo Park lab lit up with his incandescent bulbs. “Edison” premieres January 27, 2015 on PBS American Experience.

In February 1881, Thomas Edison established the headquarters of the Edison Electric Light Company in New York City. Edison’s goal of electrifying Lower Manhattan had stalled for two years while Edison and his team grappled with creating the world’s first electrical power grid. “Edison” premieres January 27, 2015 on PBS American Experience.

In 1894, Thomas Edison filmed sharpshooter Annie Oakley in his Black Maria studio. He was testing a new device called the kinetograph, an electrically powered camera capable of capturing motion. “Edison” premieres January 27, 2015 on PBS American Experience.

In the 1890s, Thomas Edison worked with his assistant and part-time photographer, William Dickson to create a motion picture camera. They created a series of short films that could be viewed on a coin-operated, peephole viewing cabinet called a kinetoscope. “Edison” premieres January 27, 2015 on PBS American Experience.

Thomas Edison is famous for inventions like the lightbulb, the phonograph and the kinetograph. But with over a thousand U.S. patents to his name, these famous breakthroughs are just the beginning. Go Beyond the Doc to learn about Edison's lesser-known inventions.

In 1894, the famous gunslinger, Annie Oakley came to Edison’s Black Maria studio in West Orange, New Jersey. Edison wanted to see if his kinetograph – a primitive version of a movie camera – was sensitive enough to capture the smoke from Oakley’s gun. The experiment was a success, as you can see in this short, silent film of “Little Sureshot” demonstrating her marksmanship.

In the fall of 1922, a film crew came to West Orange, New Jersey to document Thomas Edison going about his day. In this silent film, they capture the prolific inventor discussing new ideas with employees, conferring with his secretary, and checking in on the newest production techniques for producing one of his most famous inventions: his incandescent light bulb.